Aging - Do you want to live to 100+?

If I asked you if you wanted to live to be 100+, how would you respond? I’m guessing for most of us, the answer would be a resounding “no!” After all, the mental picture we have of living beyond our 80s is not good. Frailty, decrepitness, dependency, loss of mobility, pain, disease - none of those adjectives is great!

But what if instead, I asked you if you wanted to live to be 100+ and still be disease-free, active, and mentally sharp? Many of us would likely reconsider our answer! But, of course, that’s the stuff of science fiction, right?

Well, it used to be.

Exciting discoveries emerging from the field of aging research are pointing to a radically new approach to how we deal with getting older. Science is getting to the root cause of why aging is often accompanied by a decline in function and decrepitness.

If we understand the why - the root causes and the changes they trigger in our biology, in our interconnected web of molecules and cells and tissues - then we can transform our health, well-being and extend our lives, both our “health” span and our life span.

While it’s true that aging accelerates the risk of all chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, high blood pressure, autoimmune disease, and more; the reality is that what we see as “normal” aging is, in fact, abnormal aging. It is the result of a myriad of changes in our biology that are treatable. By addressing the root causes of what is often called the “hallmarks of aging,” we can prevent, treat, and even reverse most of those diseases.

This opens up exciting new possibilities for the future.

Personally, I am working on becoming the healthiest 100+ year old I can be. What does that look like? It might be slightly different for each of us, but I define it as being able to get up in the morning and do what my heart and soul want to do: go hiking, read a book, go skiing, play golf, and make love, no matter what my age.

In short, I want to continue doing what brings me joy for the rest of my life! What I have learned over the last few decades is nothing short of revolutionary in helping my patients get biologically younger while growing chronologically older. I want that for you to!

Before I share with you some of the latest tools in the field of “aging”, we touched on one of them (Sauna) in last week’s newsletter. If you missed it, ”The healing benefits of Sauna - achieving a passive cardiovascular workout by doing nothing!”, you can access it, Here.

I also shared special sauna discounting for my regular newsletter readers (see details at the end of this newsletter)…

So, continue reading to learn what we are focusing on in our offices to keep you biologically younger, while growing chronologically older!

Top Breakthroughs in Aging Research

Not only do we all age, but older adults will also make up most of the human population in just seven years. By 2030, every 1 in 5 Americans, is predicted to be 65 and older. This growth in the older adult population will lead to shifts in the workplace, marketing practices, food production, and entertainment. Even further, the needs of older adults will be placed in a spotlight as issues with healthcare and general well being will increase alongside the population.

As the population of older adults continues to grow, understanding the narrative around aging is important for each individual as they will eventually age too. Hence, there is an urgent need for new therapies to delay or cure age related diseases.

Science has led to innumerable discoveries that are bringing us closer to the development of therapies that will extend healthspan, or our years of health as we age.

Let’s take a brief look at some of the discoveries, and I’ll give you links to read more in-depth information.

Cellular Senescence:

Senescent cells are the cause of several age-related diseases, which account for a high percentage of all causes of death worldwide.

Cellular senescence is a hallmark of aging. To date, several senescence routes have been identified. The positive and/or negative effects of senescent cells are directly related to the time that they remain in the body.

Short-term (acute) senescent cells are associated with positive effects; once they have executed their actions, immune cells are recruited to remove them.

In contrast, long-term (chronic) senescent cells are associated with disease; they secrete pro-inflammatory and pro-tumorigenic factors in a state known as senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP).

In recent years, cellular senescence has become the center of attention for the treatment of aging-related diseases. Current therapies are focused on elimination of senescent cell functions in three main ways:

use of senolytics
inhibition of SASP
improvement of immune system functions against senescent cells (immunosurveillance)

The connection between NK and T cell activation and nutrient-sensing systems suggests that dietary interventions are a promising approach to maintain a healthy immune system in older individuals, and thus the ability to efficiently clear senescent cells.

You can read more details on this subject, Here.

Flavonoids:

The role of Quercetin and Fisetin (flavonoids found in many fruits and vegetables) show promise. They can help stabilize the cells that release histamine in the body and thereby have an anti-inflammatory and antihistamine effect.

Topical treatment of Quercetin increases the hydration and elasticity of the skin, reducing wrinkles. The skin is also easy to access, unlike internal organs, making it an ideal target for anti-aging studies using flavonoids.

A natural senolytic, Fisetin, shows promise to reduce the burden of senescent cells, and extend lifespan and improve health, even when treatment was initiated late in life.

You can read more details on Quercetin, here.

Restricting certain foods, fasting and timing:

Evidence is accumulating that eating in a 6-hour period and fasting for 18 hours can trigger a metabolic switch from glucose-based to ketone-based energy, with increased stress resistance, increased longevity, and a decreased incidence of diseases, including cancer and obesity.

Many interventions that increase longevity cause a reduction in inflammatory markers. For example, calorie restriction is the most powerful life-extension intervention in most models and is associated with reduced inflammatory biomarkers.

Dietary restriction significantly reduces the risk of Cardiovascular disease in humans, and dietary restriction is associated with numerous beneficial changes in arterial walls.

Intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating plan that switches between fasting and eating on a regular schedule. Research shows that intermittent fasting is a way to manage your weight and prevent — or even reverse — some forms of disease.

IF works by prolonging the period when your body has burned through the calories consumed during your last meal and begins burning fat. When changes occur with this metabolic switch, it affects the body and brain, include a longer life, a leaner body and a sharper mind.

Many things happen during intermittent fasting that can protect organs against chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, age-related neurodegenerative disorders, even inflammatory bowel disease and many cancers.

You can read more details, here.

The Power of Exercise:

Advances in aging research are revealing exciting findings about the power of exercise in decreasing the risk of age-related chronic diseases. Researchers assessed the ability of exercise to delay or reduce the onset of age-associated chronic inflammation or inflammaging. They found that when older adults maintained a regular exercise regimen throughout the course of their lives, they had a better likelihood of preventing or delaying inflammaging. The study suggests that exercise can serve as a natural anti-inflammatory agent and may partially protect against age-associated inflammation.

In addition, scientists are finding that it is never too late to adopt an active lifestyle to reduce the effects of inflammaging. A study found that just ten to twelve weeks of moderate exercise lowered inflammatory markers in previously sedentary older adults.

Overall, these findings contribute to growing evidence that exercise serves as a powerful strategy to prevent the effects of inflammaging and ultimately, improve our quality of life as we age.

You can read more on the subject, here.

People with Quieter Minds, Live longer:

Activities such as meditation can not only reduce stress and improve psychological wellbeing, but it can also improve your life span.

So how can we do it? One cause is the shortening of telomeres in our cells. These become shorter as we age, but research suggests stress and anxiety can accelerate that shortening. The shorter they get the more susceptible our cells are to dying and the more vulnerable we are to disease.

Moreover, meditation can slow everything down. It increases the number of long alpha brain waves and reduces the number of quick gamma brainwaves.

If you want to live longer, take a step back, breathe and slow your brain down. You’ll feel better in your mind and live longer in your body.

Aging - Do you want to live to 100+?

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